On September 5th, Naomi was blessed in church. She was so sweet during the entire blessing, smiling and cooing at her family in the circle.
Unfortunately, it didn’t last after Sacrament Meeting, when we were trying to get family photos. She was hungry and crying. Here’s what we got:
We’re grateful to everyone who came to share Naomi’s special day.
We love Naomi and are so glad she’s a part of our family!
For Labor Day, one of Tom’s older brothers, Kevin, invited the whole family over for a BBQ. It was the first time everyone had gotten together in a long while. Kevin’s new place is a great party house (with a pool!), and Kevin was a gracious and accomodating host. Everyone brought a bunch of food. We all had a great time!
Visiting and passing around Naomi:
These are pics my father-in-law sent me:
Thanks, Kevin (and everyone), for a great day!
When my family (the Robarts) is sitting around after dinner, the question sometimes comes up, “What do we want to do?” One of the favorite answers: “Beat Ben!” I don’t really know where that came from (I suspect Debi, lol). We also have suggestions for Mutilate Miriam, Demolish Debi, Rough Up Ruth. (Yeah, we’re nice people.) But the all-time favorite is Beat Ben.
Last month, we pulled off a Double Surprise Party. We surprised both Debi (for her birthday) and Ben (for his graduation). Debi helped plan Ben’s party, and Ben helped plan Debi’s party. They didn’t know the party was being thrown for them, too.
One of the games we came up with to honor Ben, was, of course, Beat Ben. I hadn’t made a pinata since I was a kid. My kids hadn’t had any experience with pinatas. We had so much fun making this one! I was so glad to have Miriam’s help. The kids kept asking what they could to to help. I was cautious about letting them do the messy part. I wasn’t even sure I was doing it right myself at first. Then I came up with their assignment: tearing newspaper strips. They tore and tore and tore! lol
Here is Ben with his buddy (holding a graduation cap):
Jared and Esther got the first swings, then Ben knocked himself around, then Debi took him down.
Let’s take another look at that:
I hope Ben felt the love. 
We also played a game of “Debi Says” that Teresa made. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pics of that.
Good times, good times.
Its been over a month since I blogged. Even Tom has told me that I need to post, so I know I really need to (he’s not a blog reader). Initially, it was because I couldn’t top my last post. I love those photos! But then we just were too busy. We’ll see how much I can catch up on…
Esther has been enjoying her 1st year of soccer. She’s so cute out there. She often is out of her position, or not paying attention to where the ball is, or too timid to go for the ball- but she’s having fun. And she is getting better.
Last month was Soccerfest, which is where the portraits are taken and the kids have their first scrimmage.
And here are some photos taken at September games:
Go Super Stars!
Independence Day (actually celebrated on Saturday, the 3rd, this year) started off early with a pancake breakfast with family and old church friends. The fun included balloon swords and hats, a flag ceremony, and riding bikes decorated at home.
Next, many of the aunts and uncles came with us to watch Toy Story 3 in 3D. It was fantastic!
Saturday night we watched fireworks, of course! And we enjoyed BBQs each day of the 3-day weekend. Good times.
…
*some of the photos stolen from my sister, Debi
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged BBQ, cakes, catching up, food, holidays, Independence Day, movies
So, I know its been a while since I’ve posted. Here’s what we’ve been up to:
Anything else? Oh yeah, still building a baby.
In October, we had such a nice trip to Apple Hill!
We started at High Hill (the crowd confirms that everyone does). Only because sometimes you can watch them making cider through a window, they give free samples, and I knew we could buy a a gallon of cider to take home.
At the Fudge Shop, we shared a caramel apple. I had never had a real one. Real, like made from a fresh apple and homemade caramel candy. It was delicious!!
Our next stop was Apple Ridge Ranch, for dinner. We’d never been to this farm before, and I wanted to make sure to go to some new ones. We were not disappointed!
We started by having some BBQ tri-tip sandwiches. The meat itself was really mild, but you add as much of their homemade BBQ sauce as you want. It was really good! I liked being able to make it just the way I like it. Tom & I should have shared a plate.
They have an old tractor there the kids played around on.
Apple Ridge Ranch also has a “petting farm” with the cutest sheep and goats ever! They were so sweet! That’s where we found out that sheep and goats really like Tom.
After a short nature walk, we went to our next stop.
This place is famous for their Apple Doughnuts. After reading about them, I knew I’d be skipping the apple pie to try them. They are the greatest! Warm & soft on the inside, crunchy with cinnamon-sugar coating on the outside. To die for! (Posting this is really making me hungry- which means a lot since I’ve been queasy lately. I think we’ll have to make a trip back before they close on Christmas Eve.)
We ate them on these cute rustic swings that line the deck.
The kids love photo cut-outs! They spent a while running back and forth between these.
Lots of good food & family fun at Apple Hill. Can’t wait til we go back!
While I was “out”, my baby turned four!
He wanted Chick-fil-A for lunch. My kids love that place. They think the cows are funny.
Next, we took him to Build-A-Bear-Workshop. It was his first time. Magic! (That place is really very cool.)
He named his bear “Bear”.
Finally, we went to the theaters to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. We all thought it was fun & silly.
Its hard to believe he’s already four. He’s growing up so fast. He’ll start school next year.
I love that kid.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged birthdays, Build-A-Bear-Workshop, catching up, Chick-fill-A, food, Jared, movies
Yeah, so I’ve disappeared for a couple of months. Not really a big surprise to me. I started this blog hard and fast, then dropped it like a hot rock. I do that. Its part of being sporadic, compulsive and obsessive.
When Esther went “off-track” from school (year-round), I think I did, too.
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In the meantime, and in no particular, order I/we:
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